The George Mason men's volleyball team takes to the road for
the final time during the regular season, traveling to face NJIT on Friday
evening and Rutgers-Newark on Saturday afternoon.
NJIT and Rutgers-Newark are the only two teams Mason has not
faced in EIVA action this season. Both teams will travel to the RAC later this
month to wrap-up the home-and-home series.
Junior middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski continues to be a
defensive presence at the net, currently ranking sixth nationally with an
average of 1.45 blocks/set. As a team, the Patriots also rank in the Top-10
nationally in two categories: eighth in blocks/set (2.69) and 10th
in digs/set (9.07).
Offensively the Patriots are led by junior outside hitter
Mark Jones' 3.19 kills/set, while junior setter Javier Perez dishes out an
average of 9.25 assists/set.
MASON (8-14, 4-5 EIVA) at NJIT
(10-13, 4-4 EIVA)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Estelle and Zoom
Fleisher Athletic Center, Newark, N.J.
Live Stats: Click Here
The Highlanders enter Friday's contest with an overall record of 10-13 and 4-4
in the EIVA, one spot ahead of Mason in the conference standings. NJIT's last
match was at Harvard, where it fell in straight sets.
Junior libero Brady Smith stands third nationally with an
average of 2.60 digs/set, and the team is third in the country, averaging 9.59
digs/set. Freshman outside hitter TJ Jurko sets the pace for the Highlander
offense with a team-best 3.48 kills/set, junior setter Matthew Lui averages a
team-high 7.38 sets/set, and junior outside hitter Kevin Van Oss has posted an
average of 0.77 blocks/set.
MASON at RUTGERS-NEWARK
When: Saturday, 2:00 pm
Where: The Golden Dome, Newark,
N.J.
Rutgers-Newark is 9-12 overall and just 1-9 in the conference. The Scarlet
Raiders defeated Kean, 3-1, on Tuesday in non-conference action, but have
dropped their last nine EIVA games after starting conference play with a 3-0
win over Sacred Heart.
Offensively, senior right side Austin Pappas has a team-best
3.38 kills/set, freshman setter Manuel Felipez averages 9.73 assists/set and junior
middle blocker Brett Pickens leads the team with 0.70 blocks/set.
